Our mission is to find the best unpublished short mystery – one that fits into legendary crime writer Margery’s definition of what makes a great story:

“The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.”

Longlist 2021

Announcement dates for the 2021 Margery Allingham Short Mystery Prize.

Shortlists: 9am Thursday 20 May – online
Winners: Thursday 1 July, time and place to be confirmed

We received more entries in 2021 than in recent years so it will be an especially closely fought competition. Thank you everyone for entering – and good luck!

The international competition is open to all – both published and unpublished authors from all over the world – and is for short stories of up to 3,500 words. All that we ask is that the story has not been previously published anywhere, or shortlisted for this competition. Entires open each year on 1 October and close at 6pm GMT on the last working day of the following February. Entry is from this web page.

Read shortlisted and winning competition entries on the left.

How to Write a Winning Story

We asked a former winner of the CWA/Margery Allingham Short Mystery Prize for 6 great tips and here they are:

• Read the great short stories (not just crime fiction) and ask yourself what makes them great
• Don’t kid yourself that writing a short story is much easier than writing a novel
• Think about the effect you want the story to have on the reader
• The opening needs to arrest attention
• The end must leave the reader with a sense of satisfaction
• Between the beginning and the end – don’t waste a word

Want to promote the competition? Download an A5 PDF flyer here.

Congratulations to the 2020 winner

Della Millward – A Time to Confess

Highly commended
Lauren Everdell – Voices
Laila Murphy – Sting in the Tail